Puma La Garduna

A no-frills knife, to really be used, with a choice of materials that will make it more beautiful with the passing of time.
 
Text and pictures Roberto Allara

 

There are knives that no one will willingly carry in their pocket. Custom knives, with impeccable finishes, made from rare or precious materials and with a special type lock. Beautiful and expensive items that no one would try to cut something with; because sometimes they are not actually sharp. These are works of art to be kept in a showcase, or in a safety deposit box at the bank if they are very expensive They are to be handled with care. You want to keep them as immaculate as the day they were delivered by the knife maker.
But a knife is made to cut and if it does not cut it is not a knife. So, then we must turn to something very simple to keep in our pocket every day. However, everybody has their own preferences on the dimensions of the everyday-carry-knife. There are some who want it small, because then it allows more precise work, and there are some who want it big enough to deal with some hard work. “In medio stat virtus”, Horace said. Indeed, the average measure is suitable for almost every activity. The knife shall not have precious or rare materials but it must be pleasant to look at; the blade must be of the highest quality; the handle should be of a sufficient size to securely handle the knife.
With these premises, we turn our gaze toward the ‘La Garduna’ knife, produced by a renowned name, a quality manufacturer. In fact, Puma has existed since 1769 and has been working in Solingen since 1855. Nobody can stay in the market for that long if their products were not exceptional.

 

 

Left: On the side of the handle we see the Puma logo. Right: The blade has a back lock.

The steel used for the blade does not have a corresponding AISI classification. It is quite similar to the AISI 440A but with a different Vanadium content, balanced by a slight reduction in the Carbon content. The slight variation compared to the AISI standard guarantees a longer lasting edge. Puma puts all their high-quality blades to stand trial to the Rockwell hardness test to prove their quality, and this blade is no exception. The degree of hardness, 56-58 HRc, is between two extremes because in the hardening operations, though done with the utmost care, there is always some slight variation between one blade and another. The handle has a metal frame and the scales are made of olive wood that with time, and often carrying the knife in your pocket, will take a nice glossy finish; the same will happen to the palisander-wood bolsters. The lock of the blade is a backlock. Finally, here we have a no-frill knife, not to be exhibited but to really be used.

 

The Rockwell hardness test.
 
Maker:                        Puma, Germany
Model:                        La Garduna
Blade length:              84 mm
Blade thickness:         2,8 mm
Steel / hardness:         Molybdenum vanadium / 56-58 HR
Locking of the blade:    Back lock
Length closed:            110 mm
Knife weight:               89 g
Scales:                       Olive wood
Bolsters:                     Palisander wood
MSRP                        60 Euro